Shuttle X27D

Windows XP works a treat on the X27D and its small form factor, low energy consumption and near-silent operation also make it an excellent candidate for Windows Home Server (WHS) to share files and back up PCs. Just like most XP drivers, Shuttle’s drivers installed perfectly on WHS and performance, thanks to the X27D’s Gigabit port, which was very good.

Our main grumble with the X27D is its price, especially if you plan to buy a copy of Windows XP for it. Microsoft allegedly sells XP for $32 (around £22) per unit for low-cost laptops and desktops such as the Eee PC and Eee Box, as long as they only have a single core. The dual-core CPU in the X27D, therefore, makes it ineligible for cheap XP, which leaves Ambros selling regular XP for the X27D at £82.

If you have to buy components as well (shopping about will buy 1GB of Ram, a 120GB hard drive and a DVD writer for about £80), the X27D is considerably more expensive than the £200 Eee Box. That said, the X27D has better build quality, slightly better performance and a simple layout that makes upgrading and changing components a doddle.